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Week 4: I'm a manatee, mommy!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 4

(image is larger than life)

By the end of this week the round and pointy ends of your pear-baby will become more defined leaving them looking something like a miniature manatee.

Despite your baby looking like a sea creature without any eyes, ears or mouth, the earliest forms of what will become the larynx, internal ear, and eye lens are already present, although you'd have to be a trained expert to recognize them for what they're going to be in the future.

At the same time, tiny bumps are forming on your little embryo which will eventually become arms, elbows, fingers, legs, knees and toes - in all their miniaturized perfection.

Lastly, your magical sea creature will be sprouting a tiny tail by the end of this week! Don't worry, it's just the end of their developing spinal cord that'll eventually recede into their lower back.

A microscopic photo would reveal what seems to be their vertebrae filling out the spine and tail. Although they aren't bones yet, but rather, the "bone seeds" that will give rise to your baby's vertebrae, ribs and sternum.

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MY BABY'S PROGRESS: WEEK 4

Only 36 more weeks to go!

By the end of this week the round and pointy ends of my mini-pear-shaped baby will be slightly more exaggerated and their body will look something like a miniature manatee. Despite having no eyes, ears ...

Tuesday at 19:16 via Baby Gaga · Comment · Like

And how's mom doing?
Who's tired & cranky? Just look in the mirror! To be perfectly fair, most women are just beginning to cue into the fact that they're pregnant, but that's where you're heading if you're not there yet!some doctors theorize that this sensitivity is potentially the whole reason for morning sickness: to clear your system of any toxic food by-products which—although fine for your adult stomach, could cause considerable harm to your baby’s newly forming digestive tract

In fact, the earliest symptoms of morning sickness may set in for some women at this time. The not-so-lovely symptoms are nausea and vomiting. Although this typically occurs in the morning and resolves itself by midday, morning sickness can come at any time, day or night, so—for an unlucky minority, you’ll be visiting puke-town throughout the day.

In general, most pregnant women don’t experience morning sickness until their sixth week, but it never hurts to know what vomit-y fate may be awaiting you.

Morning sickness is due to several changes that are taking place in your body. First, you are now pumping out significantly larger amounts of estrogen and progesterone than you're used to, which slows digestion waaaaay down in order to maximize nutrient absorption into your blood stream. Based on what sort of food you're eating, this slowed digestion can result in vomit-inducing nausea.

Also, your stomach is much more sensitive and some doctors theorize that this sensitivity is potentially the whole reason for morning sickness: to clear your system of any toxic food by-products which—although fine for your adult stomach, could cause considerable harm to your baby’s newly forming digestive tract and other body systems . If it helps, you could always think of the morning sickness as a baby-facilitated body cleanse.

(For more on morning sickness symptoms, causes and tips for prevention, please see Week 6.)